Powerfully ripe and expressive aromas that display a wonderfully spicy mix of sous bois and very warm earth notes followed by quite ripe and intense flavors underpinned by noticeable finishing structure that has a slightly rustic character to it. This is still quite vibrant and may very well outlive all of the DRC '78s with the possible exception of Romanée-Conti itself. In short, this is a classic Grands-Echézeaux. Consistent notes save for one bottle that didn't show well at all though I suspect that this was more due to poor storage than anything else.

I love the 1978 vintage at Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, as this predates the domaine adopting a policy of one hundred percent new oak for all of their wines (which began with the 1985s) and I have always found the wines raised in less new wood every more beautifully representative of their underlying terroirs. The 1978 Echézeaux is a beautiful bottle of wine at its apogee of peak maturity, wafting from the glass in a blend of raspberries, beetroot, sous bois, delicate notes of venison, woodsmoke, blood orange and a marvelously complex base of soil. On the palate the wine is pure, fullish and very intensely flavored, with fine mid-palate depth, impressive complexity and a very long, tangy and meltingly tannic finish. A really lovely, à point vintage of DRC Echézeaux for drinking over the next thirty years! (Drink between 2011-2040)

(NM91-93 points) A faded amber rim with rich nose of truffles, mushrooms and a hint of Ardennes pate. Very deep and rounded with a distinct rustic, vegetal core. Not the most complex Domaine de la Romanee-Conti I have been acquainted with, it was expressive but perhaps a little diffuse on the finish. Very long finish. Drink up.